You are probably wondering what happened to 27 weeks, well, I’ll tell you.. My husband and I were the lucky paitients to get the new girl as our ultra sound tech at our 27 week appointment. She was not very good in my opinion (my husband woud say that no one is very good at what they do these days in my opinion) but she really wasn’t good. First she pushed that little wand thing so hard into my belly I had to tell her to lighten up, no one else ever had to press even a little hard to get the pics they needed. Two, she told us that they only listen to the hearbeat if they see something wrong, really?! We have heard both heart beats everytime we visited the doctor. When we went back last week (sorry for the delay in the post, I have to get my hands excited about the blogging ot they just don’t cooperate) I asked not to have her, and I felt really good about it.

The babies are now measuring 3.4lbs and 3.8lbs, which is really good for 29wk babies, not so good for a dad who still needs to build cribs. They are about the size of a head of cabbage

they are getting really squished in there now and are both positioned head down, they may or may not stay that way. When they move I can usually see their movements on the surface of my belly, it’s so weird and I never get bored of watching it.

In some of them it’s really hard to tell what these pictures are of..If you think you know please leave your guess in the comments!

I’m pretty sure the next two are profile pics.

not sure if they are the same baby or different, only some of the pictures were labled AA (baby a)

this was two little heads all smooshed together just waiting for thier big exit!

And this last one is the one picture I got at my 27 week appt, it’s definatly baby b, who do you think she looks like?

i think my husband ; )

July 25th 25 weeks

Is it just me or is time creeping along? I really don’t want to wish away the days, but I have to admit, when you ask how I am doing and I tell you “good, yes I feel great” I’m lying. I really don’t think I have it as bad as some. My morning sickness hasn’t come back, I don’t have headaches or back aches. and so far no gross stretch marks or varicose veins. What I do have are sore legs. I’m ok at work because I sit with my feet up on a pillow under my desk, but if I sit too long they hurt more when I get up, so I have to schedual laps around the floor every thirty to forty-five minutes. I actually feel better when I am excersizing than relaxing and definitely better than just standing around. We are working hard to get the house ready but by the end of each day the last thing I feel like doing is organizing anything. I did make a huge step today in getting the babies room ready, I found the ruler I need for measuring out the stripes!

Speaking of babies, I have new pictures! And I am happy to report that they are growing well and staying healthy. They are each measuring approximately 2lbs now and my belly is measuring 43 1/2″, almost caught up to my husband.

Each baby is about the size of a head of Cauliflower, so in honor of the garden growing within me (oh how poetic) we ate grilled cauliflower for dinner the other night (since we still don’t have a functioning kitchen). But when we do finally have that kitchen we will for sure be making one of my husbands mothers famous recipes, cauliflower pasta. Basically you steam the cauliflower, set aside, saute about four heads (yes heads, not cloves) of garlic in a 1/2 cup olive oil, then saute the cauliflower in the garlic until it’s brown in places, then pour the mixture over perfectly cooked capellini pasta and serve with a ton of Loccatelli. Enjoy!

Oh babies, right! Here are their new pictures. I think they know I am thinking about them right now the are kicking and punching away as I write this.

The babies are positioned opposite of each other right now, a is head up/feet down and b is feet up (in my rib cage)/head down. Here you can see a’ skull in her brain and b’s butt and a little leg, I think. It looks like a chicken wing. I’m beginning to sense a theme with this post, maybe I need to go get another lunch.

moving down my belly this shows a cross section of the babies abdomens. Apparently an ultrasound machine takes picture similar to how an MRI does, in slices.

And way down at the bottom is a great butt shot of a and b’s skull.

Here is b’s face, sideways and half shadowed. A was facing backward the whole time so no photo ops today for her. I’m sorry but you’ll just have to check back next time.

While babies are on the forefront and the topic most seem to be interested in these days I have taken soem time to do a few things for myself that I’m sure there won’t be much time for one the girls arrive. So check back int eh next week for some fun posts on antiquing, my favorite places and a fun family celebration.

Thanks for visiting!

July 11th 23 Weeks

I’ve actually had two appointments since my last update, but since I get pics every two weeks at the perinatal my OB doesn’t print any for me, she knows they are not nearly as cute on her screen. But She did tell me the I am measuring 27 weeks as far as the size of my big fat belly as my 3yr old niece likes to call it, which I’m ok with, because she said that if I turned into a rainbow I would be a big fat rainbow, gotta look at the bright side.How big is that belly?…I’m measuring 41″ around. Still smaller than my husband from this post at 16weeks.

The babies measured 23weeks and 6days so it’s good that they are growing faster than normal. They weigh approximately 1.5lbs each, the size if a rutabaga. And since I have no idea what a rutabaga is here is Wikipedia’s explanation. It’s a type of turnip, that looks like sweet potatoes after it’s cooked. But People in Sweden and Scotland eat it, no so much in the US.

My belly is making me laugh a lot these days, the babies move around about half the day for a few minutes each time. Last night my husband saw my belly pop up when someone punched me, he though that was pretty cool. I see it all the time, but I have the patience to sit there are stare at my belly all day.

Here are a few new pics of the girls. The doctors are trying to confuse me now, they both want to switch who’s a and who’s b. A is on my right side and b is on my left, but sice b is “presenting” head down they want to call her a. so far they are named as they have been, I’ll let you know if they really do change it.

A’s face and hands, two shots.

b’s head and spine

b’s face

Again, I’m sorry that the captions are not where they are suppose to be. Learning how to use wordpress has been much more difficult than I though, especially when your energy and patience are running low.

I think for the most part I am feeling pretty good, I haven’t had any scary braxton hicks contractions and the doctors give me a good to go as far as everyone growing like they should and blood pressure and such. That being said, it’s easier to breath when I stand, but after a while my legs hurt, so I am the happiest laying down, but not for too long on my back because then the blood doesn’t flow to my brain and I can feel my heart in my ears, or on one side because all the blood rushes to that side and it gets uncomfortable. I have to sleep on my side, so my arm falls asleep which hurts. And I have to tuck a pillow under my belly when I’m on my side because it’s so heavy I can feel it pulling down, which hurts. Last night both girls ended up on one side,so my belly was lopsided and I had a foot or two in my ribs again. b stretches out every evening and tucks her sweet little foot just under my rib so that it feels like someones poking me in the rib, which I guess technically they are. For the most party the face each other all day so all their little hands end up in my belly button area and punch punch punch, all day long. I love it when people get to feel it, they always get so excited, is fun to have those around me share the fun. Just ask first!

Almost 24 weeks, I could have a little as 8 weeks left, or as many as 14, I’m hoping for the later but preparing for the former and just trying to take in as much of the experience as I can while it lasts. Because one thing I have learned for sure over the past few years of my life is that a lot can happen in a very short amount of time so you better take a minute to enjoy it because it’s going to be over before you know it.

TGI almost F

June 27th 21 Weeks

It was back to the Perinatal again this week for a checkup and I’m happy to report everyone is doing great. The babies are each weighing 15ozs

that’s about this size, that’s a spaghetti squash.

They were moving around so much during the scan the tech had a hard time getting good pictures of them.

Here is b’s profile

and a’s head and body, mosltly spine.

and b’s big foot

and a’s little hand, awww

Have a Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

June 13th 19 weeks

I have finally started to feel them moving around, not much, just a tiny little bit here and there. It’s so subtle that if I’m not being super still when they move enough for me to feel them then I miss it. Sometimes I think I feel a little muscle twitch, but the more I talk to the other 15 women in my office who are pregnant I realize it’s them! My husband can’t wait to start feeling them move and kick and punch and whatever else they will do in there for the next four months (hopefully). And he’s really good about saying hi to them everyday, in Hebrew .

It was back to the Perinatal doctor this week and again, everything looks good, no ttts, good! They are very quick and thorough with their check, they just don’t take the time to get the good images like they use to, tisk, tisk. Hehe. That was a joke, they are doing their job making sure that our babies are growing well, which they are. They both measure 19wks and three days gestational age and each weigh the same at 11oz. Their heads are now above my belly button and they are both feet down, but they spin around like tiny dancers the whole time. Which is probably why it is difficult to get good pics. The tech did manage to snap these…

baby girl b’s head

baby girl a’s footsie

but the rest just look like blobs, like this one

or scary skeletor people, like this one…

She actually has her hands up by her head, which is a good thing for babies, it means they are relaxed (my sister told me that).

I feel really lucky that I get to check in with the babies every one to two weeks, I just don’t know how people can stand not knowing what is going on for months at a time. 12 days until next scan!

I really hate my hands, I can’t figure out if moving them or keeping them resting feels better, because they just hurt so much. There’s not much I can do these days, even typing this is painful, but at the same time it takes my mind off the pain for a bit.

My friend at work and I took another instagram break on Friday, it was 1000 degrees out but I liked the outfit I had on for instagram.

In other news the house us still a work in progress but I love it already. And we went to our labor and delivery class for multiples today, 6 hours of how, what and why of childbirth of twins, at first it seems like there are so many choices to be made but at the same time the dr is going to do what is best for mom and babies and it my job as the mom to be ok with it and go with the flow.

My posts are going to be a lot less wordy going forward. Remember that shot in my hand I was talking about here, well, I got it, and it did nothing. My hand hurts constantly. It’s bad enough that I can’t be on my feet for as long as I would like to each day but now I can’t use my hands to do anything for more than 30 seconds before it gets too painful. Apparently this is one of those pregnancy symptoms that sometimes doesn’t go away until months after I give birth, yay.

The outfit I have on in this months bumpdate has been one of my favroites to wear since becoming pregant. It’s an american apprel tank, two pieces of jersey sewn together with raw edges for the neckand arm holes, but the last time I put it on (I think it was for these pictures) it was feeling a bit tight. So if I could use my hands I could sew myself a new one, just bigger, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’m having to get very creative with my outfits these days, my bump now measures 44 .5″. I think I’m growing about an inch a week!

That’s the pregnancy induced carpal tunnel syndrome, it’s really painful, mostly on the right hand, the wrist splints help some, but not much. The cortisone shot was suppose to make the pain go away, it did nothing except hurt my hand worse for the remainder of Thursday (the day I got the shot).

But here I am at my friend Saren’s baby shower, she is due two weeks before me, looking huge and miserable, drinking a Martini? I wish, it’s virgin, but the fruit juice alone made me feel better as chugged it in record time.

Each week I receive a coupon for Carter’s stores for 20% (sometimes more) off a purchase of $40 or $50 to share with friends and family. You can access these coupons on my blog on the far right side under My Registries. Just click the link and the most recent coupon will open in your browser, print it and go! If you are a grandparent you will get an additional 10% off your purchase, but only on Wednesdays! Happy Shopping!

First, I just want to say that my husband is amazing, he is taking great care of me and doing everything in his super human power to get our house “Done” (quotation explanation a little later). Now, remember this post? That was 21 days ago, I laugh at myself as I think about how I told you that the “major” things would be done next week. OK, so that deadline came and went, but each week things here and there get “worked on” and I do have a lot of faith that one day we will have a house that looks and feels put together and lived in all at the same time.

Originally this renovation was suppose to be “DONE” when we moved in (july fourth weeknd), since nothing was working at that point we spent one week at my sisters house while she and her husband were traveling and another two, oh wait, we extened it to three days at the staybrige (which was actually kinda great, with the whole maid service thing). When we did move in, as you can see from the above post things were hardly “done”. So each day I was told, by my wonderful husband, that today ______ (fill in the blank) would be done, and each day it maybe gets worked on, but not much is really done. I actually don’t like the word, I believe a home should grow with your family as much as possible, so when you are done, what it means is that it’s time to move : )

so, as annoying as it was to not have a kitchen to cook in for several weeks, I must say I have enjoyed delicious home cooked meals for the past three night, courtsy of that great guy I married. And As much as I hated brushing my teeth in the kitchen sink day after day, I am really happy with how the hall bathroom is shaping up.

Here are a few pics to show what Has been done,

perviously

and now

and, from this

to this, in case you were curious, it’s super comfy.

and from this

to this (for several weeks)

to a fully functional lou!

it still needs some finishing touches, but It’s usable!

and remember this lovely old schoolness in our room

gone and replaced with something I like much more

ok, here’s where that pesky word comes in. See this, to my sweet husband who really tries to make me as happy as possible, is “Done” except it’s obvious that it is not, for starters, the sink doesn’t work, and there is all this construction junk where I am suppose to clean my face and teeth.

And there is still no mirror and that light, oh, that light, it has to go ASAP. It’s really not what I want to look at first thing in the morning, it reminds me of the lights in Hollister ( I use to work there). More to come on this project.

And a quick peak into the babies to be room

It still needs longer candles, bulbs and shades, but I already love it.

And I got this rug, what do you think?

PS my bump is the size of a huge watermelon and feel and looks like one with the stripe that has developed, LOL!

The first month I didn’t know I was pregnant, I knew it was a possibility but can’t know until four weeks in. Technically Your not even pregnant for the first two weeks that they count as part of the forty weeks. The second and third month I had the morning sickness that lasted all day, feeling that bad was exhausting, my life was centered around eating tolerable foods at the right time. At month four that went away and I felt really good, my feet would hurt by the end of each day. But aside from that I didn’t feel too big and was enjoying the summer and getting started on our home renovation. Well i’m now half way through the sixth month and I no longer feel good. In fact at this very moment I feel sad, scared, sick and in pain. I’m sitting in the ob’s office because I failed the 1 hour glucose tolerance test so now I have to take the three hour test. Which means I have to drink a nasty 100gram sugar drink, which has made me feel like i want to throw up, and get my blood taken four times before noon. I HATE NEEDLES! I know getting your blood taken doesn’t hurt that much but I get anxiety over it, I can’t help it, it’s just nit something I deal well with. And the possibility of having to prick my finger several times a day to check my sugar is just scary and sad to me. I really think that I wouldn’t be crying my eyes out in the dr office this morning if I didn’t also have to deal with the fact that MY HANDS HURT! I have pregnancy induced carpal tunnel syndrome, so I hold an ice pack, wear wrist splints, they help a little, but the only way to get rid if the pain is to get a cortisone shot IN MY HAND, another needle. And last unfun thing for now, because I could go on and on, but I didn’t want to be a whiner complainer pregnant person, but it’s my blog and it makes me feel better, is that I have baby b’s little feetsies digging under my ribs, which is a sharp pain that doesn’t subside unless I do a back bend, which is so easy to do these days.

There are so many reasons to celebrate life, some are big things like getting engaged, getting married, or having a baby (or two). And some are not so big like learning to write your name all by yourself, making cookies with someone you love or seeing a new ocean for the first time. But it is all the experinces that we each have that make us who we are, so no one experince is any more important than another. It’s my hope for this blog that I will share all kinds of experinecs big and small.

A few weekend ago I made the trip to my home town for one last visit by my self. My husband wasn’t able to come because he was hard at work on our new home (which you will see new pictures of one day very soon), And once our babies get here I will no longer be allowed to fly without another adult, airline policy 1 adult per baby.

The main purpose of the trip when I schedualed it was to celebrate my totally amazing cousin Robert and his new wife Elif at a reception given by his parents at thier home. They were married in earlier in the summer in California, which from the pictures looked like something that would make Martha Stewart very proud.

It was also a chance to see many of my aunts, uncles and cousins. And to top it off just a few days before the trip my sister got asked a very special question by her boyfriend, and now they are engaged!

It was a quick trip but filled with so much that it felt huge! Like I looked!

The Cookout!

Hey Sylvia, where are the rest of the guns?
Elif making her mint chocholate chip ice cream cone, they were so yum!
The host, Meryl Streep. Ok not really but she even sounded like her.
The next morning was the main event held at the grooms parents house, it was a wonderful time for everyone. The whole family was there and got to wish the newlyweds well, catch up with each other and eat some really delicious food. Ok so shoot me I had some lox, I just couldn’t resist it was screaming EAT ME! twice : )

One of the things that I have always loved doing is roaming around antique malls and fairs and looking at the stuff that people have from the past. I have purchased a thing or two here and there but I am by no means a collector. I just love the design of household items from the 20’s. 30’s, 40’s 50’s 60’s and 70’s. I thinks it makes for a really interesting environment when the new and old are mixed up around you. Last weekend I took some time for myself and went to one of my favorite Antique malls near Atlanta. There are so many around the south and hopefully one day I’ll be able to share this passion with two young ladies, but I imagine that will be some time from now. I don’t think any of these stores would appreciate a double wide trying to maneuver through the tiny isles and hidden nooks and crannies.

Part of me hates that I do it to myself, going to these stores and seeing all these interesting pieces that I know, given the time and research, I could make them come alive again. But Thanks to that great show on TLC “hoarders” I refrain from buying much of anything and I am happy just to see whats there and dream about it later.

One of the items in general that I am obsessed with are chairs, doesn’t matter what kind or for what use, I just love chairs.

I found these bentwood dinning chairs, but they were a bit wobbly and I would have no idea how to fix them,

there were four of them.

Wouldn’t they have been a lovely addition to our home with a little makeover.

and then there was this wood chair, with the great carved detail.

I would paint it and probably add a cushion.

I actually have two chairs that a church was going to throw away, so I got them for free.

And as soon as I get around to painting and reupholstering them, I’ll show you how it turned out.

Look for that in late 2012 sometime ; ).

I also found these adorable vintage kid sized folding chairs, I think I may actually get these if they are still there when I go back.

Another chair that I am currently obsessing over is this Eames reproduction in kids size, I want two, obviously.

Ok enough with my chair sickness, on to glass wear.

I love glass! Colored glass, vintage glass, etched glass, and of course glass that looks like fancy crystal. I also love anything for the kitchen that is colorful.

Some of you may be wondering why I choose all white dishes to register for when we got married. Easy! I could never pick a favorite color (although blue and green tend to usually win me over).

Mixing it up is easy when you have white dishes, I can use yellow salad plates or blue cups or pink utensils and the table will always look fun and put together.

Then I found these old suitcases. I actually remember a few times when I was young having to actually carry a suitcase.

Now these relics are much better served as makeshift coffee tables or bedside table, ooh, imagine that n a guest room, get it travel theme.

And last I found these while I was writing this post, click the picture to get the recipe. I’m going to make some in my new kitchen, some time very soon. Don’t worry the almost finished house pics are coming.

HI, I'm Julie. Creative
and crafty by nature and
a wife and mom by a gift
from God. My husband
and I love an adventure and a challenge. I'm a professional designer turned stay at home mom with a company to run in my free time. We have traveled and tasted and now are
on our biggest adventure yet, parenting.